【推荐1】The United States rose to global power on the strength of its technology, and the lifeblood of that technology has long been electricity. By providing long-distance communication and energy, electricity created the modern world. Yet properly understood, the age of electricity is merely the second stage in the age of steam, which began a century earlier.

“It is curious that no one has put together a history of both the steam and electric revolutions.”writes Maury Klein in his book The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America. Klein, a noted historian of technology, spins a narrative (叙述) so lively that at times it reads like a novel.

The story begins in the last years of the 18th century in Scotland, where Watt perfected “the machine that changed the world”. Klein writes,“America did not invent the steam engine, but once they grasped its possibility they put it to more uses than anyone else.”                                

Meanwhile, over the course of 19th century, electricity went from mere curiosity to a basic necessity. Morse invented a code for sending messages over an electromagnetic circuit. Bell then gave the telegraph a voice. Edison perfected an incandescent bulb (白炽灯泡) that brought electric light into the American home.

Most importantly, Edison realized that success depended on mass electrification,which he showed in New York City. With help from Tesla,Westinghouse’s firm developed a system using alternating current (交流电), which soon became the major form of power delivery.

To frame his story, Klein creates the character of Ned, a fictional witness to the progress brought about by the steam and electric revolutions in America during one man’s lifetime. It’s a technique that helps turn a long narrative into an interesting one.

【推荐3】Find Your Adventure at the Space and Aviation(航空) Center

If you’re looking for a unique adventure, the Space and Aviation Center (SAC) is the place to be. The Center offers programs designed to challenge and inspire with hands-on tasks and lots of fun.

More than 750,000 have graduated from SAC, with many seeking employment in engineering, aviation, education, medicine and a wide variety of other professions. They come to camp, wanting to know what it is like to be an astronaut or a pilot, and they leave with real-world applications for what they’re studying in the classroom.

For the trainees, the programs also offer a great way to earn merit badges(荣誉徽章). At Space Camp, trainees can earn their Space Exploration badge as they build and fire model rockets, learn about space tasks and try simulated(模拟) flying to space with the crew from all over the world. The Aviation Challenge program gives trainees the chance to earn their Aviation badge. They learn the principles of flight and test their operating skills in the cockpit(驾驶舱) of a variety of flight simulators. Trainees also get a good start on their Wilderness Survival badge as they learn about water- and land-survival through designed tasks and their search and rescue of “downed” pilot.

With all the programs, teamwork is key as trainees learn the importance of leadership and being part of a bigger task.

All this fun is available for ages 9 to 18. Families can enjoy the experience together, too, with Family Camp programs for families with children as young as 7.

Stay an hour or stay a week — there is something here for everyone!

For more details, please visit us online at www.sac.com.

Why do people come to SAC?

【推荐1】In previous recessions (经济衰退), billionaires were hit along with the rest of us; it took almost three years for Forbes’s 400 richest people to recover from losses caused in 2008’s Great Recession. But in the coronavirus recession of 2020, most billionaires have gotten richer than ever before.

Billionaires increased their new billions just as millions of other Americans ran into terrible financial problems. More than 20 million people lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic. Food banks across the country are preparing for another great increase in demand. Why are American billionaires doing so well while so many other Americans suffer? People may find part of the reasons from the following fact. Stocks (股票) are overwhelmingly owned by the wealthy, and the stock market has recovered from its early-pandemic depths much more quickly than other parts of the economy.

But some billionaires are also benefiting from economic and technological trends that were accelerated by the pandemic. Among these are the owners and investors of retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, which have reported huge profits this year while many of their smaller competitors were defeated completely as the coronavirus spread.

Then there are companies that have bet on the rapid digitization of everything Eric Yuan, the chief executive of Zoom, became a billionaire in 2019. Now he is worth almost $20 billion. Dan Gilbert, the chairman of Quicken Loans, was worth less than $7 billion in March, now he commands more than $43 billion. But there is a great deal of stratification (层化) even among billionaires—richer billionaires got even richer in 2020 than the poorer ones did. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s funder, was worth about $113 billion at the start of the pandemic. Now he is worth $182 billion. Two years ago, Bezos was the only “centibillionaire” on earth—the trendy neologism (a new word) for people whose wealth exceeds (超过) ￥100 billion.

【推荐2】Steve Sparks was a young successful lawyer working for a famous law firm when his 3-year-old daughter’s serious leg problem changed his focus and the direction of his life. The problem led to many visits to doctors and an uncertain future. In a moment his life’s focus shifted from where he was going to take his clients to lunch to whether his daughter Katie was ever going to see her fourth birthday.

For three years Katie received many treatments in the hospital. And with the help of wonderful doctors and kind care-givers in Nemours Foundation, who Steve and his wife Michelle describe as heroes, Katie’s illness was cured.

Forever changed by the experience and inspired by the heroes who saved his daughter’s life, Steve felt he couldn’t go back to business as usual. He felt there was something else he was meant to do. He joined the Nemours Foundation as their lawyer. The job change came with a 65% pay cut from what he was making, but Steve’s purpose had found him and it was more important than a paycheck.

Fast forward 18 years, Katie is now a healthy 20-year-old junior in college and Steve is the Senior Vice-president of the Nemours Foundation where he brings Kati story and his purpose to work every day.

In 3 weeks, Steve will celebrate Katie’s 21^st birthday, and give a big thank-you to Nemours by riding his bicycle from Nemours’ headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida to Wilmington, Delaware. He will ride more than 900 miles in 9 days and raise 100,000 for the Nemours Foundation. His purpose hasn’t just become a part of his work. It has become a part of himself and his family.

【推荐3】previous recessions (经济衰退), billionaires were hit along with the rest of us; it took almost three years for Forbes’s 400 richest people to recover from losses caused in 2008’s Great Recession. But in the coronavirus recession of 2020, most billionaires have gotten richer than ever before.

Billionaires increased their new billions just as millions of other Americans ran into terrible financial problems. More than 20 million people lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic. Food banks across the country are preparing for another great increase in demand. Why are American billionaires doing so well while so many other Americans suffer? People may find part of the reasons from the following fact. Stocks (股票) are overwhelmingly owned by the wealthy, and the stock market has recovered from its early-pandemic depths much more quickly than other parts of the economy.

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